Departmental Databases

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what use  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC and (ii) ACORN data.

Gareth Thomas: The Department does not make any direct use of (i) Mosaic data or (ii) Acorn data. The Department has used data that has been extracted by an independent company from Mosaic for the purpose of segmenting audiences during the National Minimum Wage campaign.
	I have asked the chief executives of the Department's agencies to respond direct to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 9 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2008/3618) asking what use (a) his Department and (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data.
	The Agency does not make any direct use of (i) Mosaic data or (ii) Acorn data.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 6  O ctober 2008:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Companies House do not use MOSAIC or ACORN data.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel left  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on the number of Personnel leaving each of the UK regular armed forces can be found in tables 6, 7,9,10 and 11 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 4 - UK Armed Forces Quarterly Manning Report. TSP 4 is published
	quarterly and the most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 July 2008 and can be found at:
	http://bravo.dasa.r.mil.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=67&pubTvpe=1&thiscontent=20&date=2008-08-28
	Copies of TSP 4 are available in the Library of the House and also at
	www.dasa.mod.uk

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps have been taken to assess alternatives to bear fur for use in guardsmen's busbies; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by Baroness Taylor on 29 September 2008,  Official Report, column WA385, in the other place to the noble Lord, Lord Corbett.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the armed forces  (a) Apache,  (b) Lynx and  (c) Gazelle vehicles were (i) fit for purpose and (ii) out of service at the latest date for which figures are available.

Quentin Davies: The percentages of the  (a) Apache,  (b) Lynx and  (c) Gazelle aircraft considered (i) fit for purpose are detailed in the following table. For (ii), the term 'out of service' is not used in describing the management of helicopter fleets, however, for the purpose of this answer, 'out of service' is defined as those aircraft which are in the Depth fleet and those which are classified as non-effective aircraft.
	
		
			  July 2008  Fit for purpose as percentage of Forward fleet total  Forward fleet as percentage of Departmental fleet total  Depth as percentage of Departmental fleet total  Effective fleet (Forward fleet + Depth fleet) as percentage of Departmental fleet total  Non-Effective as percentage of Departmental fleet total 
			 Apache AH1(1) 39 73 27 100 0 
			 Lynx Mk3 60 56 28 83 17 
			 Lynx Mk7 64 52 35 87 13 
			 Lynx Mk8 70 57 37 94 6 
			 Lynx Mk9 60 63 29 92 8 
			 Gazelle 87 46 8 54 46 
			 (1) The Apache Operational fit for purpose for July 2008 was 72 per cent. of the Forward fleet. The Apache fleet is exceeding fit for purpose targets in theatre and is fully delivering the required capability. Priority is always given to operational commitments.  Note: The figures shown in the table are the average for the month of July 2008. The number of helicopters 'fit for purpose' will vary from day to day due, primarily, to routine maintenance requirements. Operational capability is measured in terms of flying hours rather than the number of airframes available. 
		
	
	The Departmental fleet is comprised of the effective and non-effective aircraft. The effective aircraft comprise those in the Forward fleet and those in the Depth fleet. Forward fleet are those aircraft that are available to the front-line command for operational and training purposes. Aircraft defined as 'fit for purpose' are those within the Forward fleet that are considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date at short notice. The Depth fleet are those aircraft which are undergoing modification, depth maintenance and repair, are in storage (including attrition aircraft), surplus aircraft awaiting classification as 'ineffective', or Trial aircraft.
	Non-effective aircraft are those aircraft still on the Military Register which are declared surplus and awaiting disposal and are no longer expected to be flown.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps the Government is taking to work with producers of free range turkeys to reduce the likelihood of outbreaks of avian influenza;
	(2)  whether his Department has consulted the  (a) National Farmers' Union and  (b) British Poultry Council as part of the process it is undertaking to draw up best practice guidelines to reduce the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza.

Hilary Benn: The Government have published extensive advice to all keepers of poultry and other kept birds on the steps they can take to minimise the risk of introducing avian influenza to their flocks. This advice is available on the DEFRA website and in leaflet format. These messages are particularly reinforced during incidents of avian influenza. We have also invited representatives of the poultry sector to work with us on the guidance and encourage poultry keepers to consider the contingency plans needed in the event they do find themselves in a disease control area. We applaud the joint initiative by the British Poultry Council, National Farmers Union, Quality British Turkey and Golden Promise (free range Traditional Farmfresh Turkeys) to produce and distribute best practice advice on housing, sighting, management of flocks and biosecurity for free range turkeys.

Beekeeping

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what departmental initiatives are in place to increase the number of honey bee-keepers in the North East region.

Hilary Benn: New beekeepers can request a free apiary visit from their local bee inspector, who will provide help and advice. This is part of the National Bee Unit's (NBU) statutory inspection programme for notifiable diseases and pests. The NBU also provides a free comprehensive training and education programme for beekeepers to enable them to develop their skills and become more self-reliant in combating disease problems through improved bee husbandry. In 2007, beekeepers benefited from more than 26,000 colony inspections and an extensive programme of training, including over 600 technical events of which 134 were in the north east region), delivered by the NBU to help improve disease control through good apiary management.

Bees: Diseases

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the resistance of northern brown honey bees to  (a) the varroa mite,  (b) foulbrood diseases,  (c) colony collapse disorder and  (d) small hive beetle.

Hilary Benn: No assessments regarding northern brown honey bees have been made. However, a project studying the genetic basis of resistance pathways in honey bees commenced at the National Bee Unit in 2007-08 and resistance to European foul brood is currently being studied.
	The cause of colony collapse disorder in the USA is unknown and there is no current evidence to suggest that the losses experienced in the UK are related. However, investigations into cases of colony losses this season where there is no readily available explanation are continuing as a high priority.
	Research into small hive beetle is currently focussed on development of lures to facilitate early detection.

Cetaceans: Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) dolphins and  (b) porpoises died as a result of bycatch in fishing nets in UK waters in the latest period for which figures are available; and what target his Department has to reduce mortality rates in each case.

Hilary Benn: In August 2008 the UK submitted to the European Commission its annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation 812/2004 on cetacean by-catch. The report was produced by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) as part of their scientific research contract with DEFRA and it summarises cetacean by-catch observations undertaken in 2006-07.
	The report states that no cetacean by-catch was observed in the fleet segments designated Under Council Regulation 812/2004 on cetacean by-catch in the period of 2006-07. The Annual Report of the United Kingdom to the European Commission on the implementation of Council Regulation 812/2004 on cetacean by-catch is available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/fisheries/conservation/cetaceans.htm.
	This report also includes data on cetacean by-catch observed under the obligations of the Habitats Directive.
	DEFRA and the devolved administrations' fisheries departments published the UK Small Cetacean By-catch Response Strategy in March 2003, which highlights the Government's thinking on how to tackle cetacean by-catch in certain fisheries in UK waters. An update on specific targets and progress to-date on implementing the strategy can also be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/fisheries/conservation/cetaceans.htm.

Departmental Official Residences

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what permanent residential accommodation is provided for use by civil servants in his Department; how many residential dwellings are provided; where they are located; and for what grade of civil servant they are provided.

Hilary Benn: The Department currently holds 14 residential dwellings available for use by civil servants employed within the Department. The residential accommodation comprises of houses, flats and shared residences.
	With the exception of a single dwelling in Reading, the accommodation (13 units) is situated at the Veterinary Laboratory Agency research complex in Weybridge.
	The provision of residential accommodation forms part of the Veterinary Laboratory Agency's key worker policy developed to support the ongoing research.
	The majority of staff currently residing in Department held accommodation are at higher executive and executive officer grades, however accommodation is allocated subject to availability and based upon business need.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been seconded to public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: The numbers of staff that have been seconded out of DEFRA and its agencies to public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in the last five years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 3 
			 2006 3 
			 2007 2 
			 2008 0 
		
	
	The available data does not split the numbers between DEFRA and its agencies.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies have been seconded to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: The following number of staff have been seconded to DEFRA and its agencies from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in the last five years:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 3 
			 2005 8 
			 2006 2 
			 2007 2 
			 2008 3 
		
	
	The available data does not split the numbers between DEFRA and its agencies.

Dolphins

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has commissioned on the  (a) stranding and  (b) death of dolphins in the last three years; and what plans he has to commission further such research.

Hilary Benn: For over 15 years, the Government have funded studies by the Natural History Museum and Institute of Zoology on trends in cetacean strandings and causes of death around the UK coastline.
	Strandings data is obtained and reported by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Institute of Zoology and Scottish Agricultural College and Marine Environmental Monitoring. Annual reports of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) are available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/resprog/findings/index.htm
	Under this research contract, not only are all stranded animals recorded, but post-mortem examinations are carried out on some of the animal carcasses to establish the exact cause of death. Abundance estimates tell us populations of studied cetaceans in UK waters have not changed significantly over the past 10 years.
	The research conducted under this contract was renewed last April and runs until 2010 at a cost of over £1 million.
	From 2000 to date, the UK has put over £2 million into researching by-catch mitigation measures and monitoring by-catch on vessels through observers, to try to identify those fisheries responsible for high levels of cetacean by-catch, and mitigation measures that are effective at deterring cetaceans over the long-term and are safe and cost-effective for the industry.
	DEFRA has implemented a comprehensive system of by-catch monitoring under the requirements of the EC habitats directive and under Council Regulation 812/2004. The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) produces annual reports on this research for DEFRA (which are also available on the website). Furthermore, SMRU has recently undertaken research on behalf of DEFRA into the effects of a new design of acoustic deterrent device ('pingers') on porpoise and dolphin distribution. These 'super-pingers' are larger, and therefore, fewer devices are required, reducing deployment problems. We hope to have more details on the efficacy of these new pingers by spring 2009.
	In addition to this work, SMRU has also undertaken a by-catch mitigation research project, which has been looking at:
	Providing updated estimates of marine mammal by-catch for all relevant fishery sectors through analysis of fleet effort data; existing by-catch rate data; and through further monitoring of UK fisheries as determined under the UK's Small Cetacean by-catch Response Strategy;
	Investigating the impact of by-catch and other indirect effects of UK fisheries on marine mammal populations, and exploring ways of addressing the limits to by-catch from a management perspective; and
	Exploring as many research avenues as practicable to search for ways of changing fishing gear design or fishing tactics in order to minimise marine mammal by-catch.
	The final report on this research project is expected to be made available publicly by the end of 2008. A new research contract on this issue has recently been agreed with SMRU and will run until April 2011.

Fisheries: International Co-operation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Joint Committee established under Article 10 of the EU/Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement.

Hilary Benn: No formal assessment has yet been made of the effectiveness of the Joint Committee set up under the EU Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement. However, officials' experience of the committee to date suggest that it is a useful way of monitoring of the effectiveness of the fisheries agreement with Morocco.

Fisheries: Quotas

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of fixed quota allocation units are held by companies and individuals not directly engaged in fishing activities.

Hilary Benn: Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units are associated with fishing vessel licences. Given the way the details of fishermen in possession of licences are recorded, it is not possible to accurately determine an individual or company's holding of FQA units at any given time. Gathering this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Flood Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what opportunities exist for demonstration projects to develop solutions to down stream flooding problems; what criteria are in place for funding support either by his Department or the Environment Agency; and what particular assistance may be available to communities in the Gloucestershire area because of the floods in July 2007.

Hilary Benn: The Government's budget for flood management is targeted to achieve the maximum possible benefit. DEFRA guidance directs delivery bodies to consider all options at a catchment scale to reduce downstream flooding problems. In order to encourage the adoption of such projects at a local scale, on 4 July, I announced that £500,000 will be made available to fund a project to demonstrate how land management change can reduce downstream flooding. Outline proposals were invited by 29 August with a view to selecting a number of projects for more detailed assessment before committing funding for implementation. The criteria for this project are that:
	there is a recognised flooding problem that could be helped by changes proposed;
	the scheme will produce multiple benefits;
	project partners are able to secure the land management changes necessary; and
	DEFRA's funding will be supplemented by contributions from other sources where appropriate, recognising multiple benefits of the project.
	In the meantime the Environment Agency is promoting and supporting catchment projects at a local level. For example, the Environment Agency recently assisted Water 21, an environmental organisation engaged by local residents, which was looking to secure funding for works in the wider Slad Brook catchment in Gloucestershire. The Environment Agency provided river and general catchment data, gave advice on the technical aspects of its work and guidance on proposed actions. The project covers a number of aspects including measures to reduce flooding downstream in Stroud.
	The Environment Agency also has a proposal to construct a flood storage reservoir upstream of New Mills Trading Estate on the Slad Brook to reduce flooding in the town. The £500,000 proposal has recently been submitted to the Severn Trent Regional Flood Defence Committee for local funding in 2009-10. The project is competing against a number of other projects in the region and elsewhere. Funding is limited and the projects supported will be selected on their merits against the criteria above. We expect to make a decision in October on which project or projects will taken forward for further assessment before confirming funding for delivery in the new year.

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of flood defences in  (a) Morpeth,  (b) Pickering and  (c) other areas affected by flooding in September 2008.

Hilary Benn: Current flood protection varies for different parts of Morpeth, but it is estimated that the average flood defence provides protection against a one in 60 year event. The Environment Agency is currently examining temporary emergency works that may be required.
	The Environment Agency is currently at the end of year one (planning phase) of a four year programme to develop a new scheme to protect Morpeth. Early indications are that an investment of between £13 million and £15 million may be required. The Environment Agency is exploring an accelerated time scale for construction of the works.
	There are currently no flood defences in Pickering. However the Environment Agency has recently supported a bid for funding to look at the possibility of reducing flows in the watercourse through tree planting in upland areas.
	The following schemes are examples of where effective flood defence helped communities in the recent September flood event:
	Up to 21,000 homes at River Taff, Cardiff
	Up to 4,600 homes at River Wye, Hereford
	Up to 2,500 homes at River Rhonda, Ferndale
	Up to 2,100 homes at River Birket, Wirral
	Up to 650 homes at Sankey Brook, Warrington
	Up to 630 homes at Cringle Brook, Manchester
	Up to 400 homes at Bangor on Dee
	Up to 3,000 homes In Yorkshire
	Up to 650 homes on the Tees at Yarm
	Up to 600 homes in York
	As a matter of course the Environment Agency will be carrying out a full and systematic review of its assets. All flood defences that were tested will be inspected to ensure they meet the requirements of their design standard.

Floods: Freedom of Information

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information on areas subject to flood risk, held by the Environment Agency, is  (a) freely available to the public and  (b) purchasable from the Agency.

Hilary Benn: Environment Agency flood risk information can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act and, in most cases, this will be free of charge.

Floods: Insurance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of households which are not eligible for insurance against flooding; what steps the Government plans to take to assist such households; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Flood insurance is included as standard for virtually all household insurance policies in the UK. We have no plans to subsidise flood insurance or act as an insurer of last resort, as it is unlikely to be sustainable or cost-effective for us to do so.

Food Supply: Animal Feed

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of production for each  (a) food stock and  (b) animal feed stock type in (i) 2008, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2006, (iv) 2005 and (v) 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Information on the level of UK production of the major crop and livestock products for the calendar years 2004 to 2007, in thousand tonnes which are published in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" are presented in the following table. It should be noted that the figures for 2007 are provisional and 2008 data will not be published in full until around March 2009.
	Certain items have food uses only i.e. fruit, vegetables, potatoes and all of the livestock products. Peas harvested dry and field beans are used for animal feed only. In the case of sugar beet and oilseed rape, these are processed to make sugar and oils respectively which are used for food and it is the by-products (pulp, molasses, meal/cake) which are used for animal feed. Cereals have a dual use for food and animal feed. The approximate proportions used within the food and animal feed sector are given in the second table.
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes  
			  UK crop and livestock production (a)  2004( 1)  2005( 1)  2006( 1)  2007( 1) 
			 Wheat (b) 15,473 14,863 14,735 13,137 
			 Barley (b) 5,816 5,495 5,239 5,079 
			 Oats (b) 627 532 728 712 
			 Oilseed Rape (c) 1,607 1,898 1,890 2,108 
			 Sugar Beet 9,042 8,687 7,400 7,525 
			 Sugar (c) 1,390 1,341 1,157 1,164 
			 Peas for harvesting dry (d) 176 156 122 80 
			 Field beans (d) 661 705 617 375 
			 Fresh vegetables (e) 2,591 2,737 2,650 2,526 
			 Fresh fruit (e) 294 363 392 398 
			 Potatoes (e) 6,246 5,979 5,727 5,635 
			 Milk - volume for human consumption (e) 13,930 13,839 13,714 13,443 
			 Hen eggs (e) 892 884 853 825 
			 Cattle and calves beef and veal (e) 2,361 2,409 2,702 2,723 
			 Pigs and pigmeat (e) 8,841 8,709 8,731 9,084 
			 Sheep and lambs mutton and lamb (e) 15,493 16,539 16,590 15,979 
			 Poultry and poultrymeat (e) 882 903 880 871 
			 (1) Provisional (a) These figures only relate to UK production and do not include imports or exports. (b) Wheat, barley and oats can be used for both food and animal feed. (c) The by-products from these industries are used in the manufacture of animal feed. (d) Used within the animal feed sector only. (e) Used within the food sector only. 
		
	
	In terms of total domestic uses, which will take into account imports and exports, the approximate proportions of the cereals crops used within the food and animal feed sector are given in the table. The remainder covers other uses such as seed.
	
		
			  Crop  Food  Feed 
			 Wheat 42 51 
			 Barley 35 63 
			 Oats 59 38 
		
	
	A link to the publication "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" is provided which gives access to detailed information on production, supply and use.
	https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/default.asp

Litter: Fixed Penalties

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many litter clearance notices were issued in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what proportion of fines for littering were paid in the last year for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: 119 litter clearing notices were issued by local authorities between April 2006 and March 2007 and in the reporting year ending March 2006, this is the first year that litter clearing notices were available to local authorities to use. Litter clearing notices were introduced by an amendment to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and commenced on 6 April 2006.
	In the reporting year ending March 2006, 54.5 per cent. of fixed penalty notices for littering were paid. In the year ending March 2007 77 per cent. were paid.
	Detailed statistics about fines for littering can be found on the DEFRA website.

Nature Conservation: Cambodia

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if his Department will offer conservation advice and support to the government of Cambodia to reduce the number of primates in Cambodia on the ICUN red list of threatened species;
	(2)  if his Department will offer conservation advice and support to the government of Vietnam to reduce the number of primates in Vietnam on the ICUN red list of threatened species;
	(3)  if his Department will offer conservation advice and support to the government of Laos to reduce the number of primates in Laos on the ICUN red list of threatened species.

Hilary Benn: The UK has not been approached to offer advice or support to the three named countries but would consider any approach if one were received.
	In particular, DEFRA supports two funding mechanisms under which conservation projects in these countries would be eligible: the Darwin Initiative and the Flagship Species Fund. To date the Darwin Initiative has provided £65 million to over 464 projects around the world. This includes a project in Vietnam which has specifically provided funding for the conservation of the Hoang Lien Mountain Ecosystem, which included work on primate conservation. The Flagship Species Fund has also supported projects in Vietnam, to conserve the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and the Cao Vit gibbon.

Recreation Spaces

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government has taken to increase protection of public green spaces.

Hilary Benn: The planning system provides strong protection for open spaces that communities need. Planning Policy Guidance Note 17; 'Open Space, Sport and Recreation' states that existing open spaces and land should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken by the local authority which has clearly shown the open space or land to be surplus to the requirements of the local community, taking into account all the functions that open space can perform.
	PPG17 advises local authorities to make provision for all types of public open space and expects local authorities to undertake robust assessments of local needs and audits of existing open space and to establish standards for new provision. On the basis of these assessments and audits, local authorities should plan to meet future needs of their population (e.g. linked to new housing developments) and can place standards of provision in their development plan. 'Planning Policy Statement 3 Housing' says that local planning authorities should have clear policies for the protection and creation of open space, and new housing developments should incorporate sufficient provision where such spaces are not already adequately provided within easy access of the new housing.
	Where land is registered as a town or village green, the land is protected from development in perpetuity. Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 was commenced in England in April last year, in line with commitments given during the Bill's passage through Parliament, to clarify the criteria for the registration of greens.
	Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 contains mainly registration-related provisions which allow for the registers to be updated to create an accurate record of common land and greens. Accurate registers will underpin our objective to provide for the protection and better management of commons and greens for generations to come. Part 1 is being piloted from October 2008 with a view to a staged national commencement from 2010.

Sheep: Ear Tagging

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department takes to ensure that inspectors planning to carry out inspections of sheep tags on mixed farms take account of the farm year cycle.

Hilary Benn: The Rural Payment Agency Inspectorate plans to complete the majority of sheep and goat inspections during the winter months when livestock are more readily available for inspection. However, due to the number and geographical distribution of inspections required to be completed and competing scheme inspection pressures, a minority of inspections will be completed during the summer months. In these instances the inspectorate endeavours to work with the keeper to minimise any disruption to other farming operations. All sheep and goat identification inspections must be undertaken unannounced, in practice this means an inspector can provide a maximum of 48 hours' notice.

South East

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on services, broken down by type, in  (a) Dartford Borough,  (b) Kent Thameside,  (c) the Thames Gateway,  (d) Kent County Council area and  (e) the South East region in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: Services for which DEFRA has a responsibility are normally provided by local authorities and supported through formula grant administered by Communities and Local Government. Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant, where appropriate, is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend this on any service so long as they meet their statutory obligations. Spending decisions for the local areas mentioned are a matter for the local authorities concerned.
	In addition, DEFRA provides some limited direct support to local authorities, such as small capital grants for air quality monitoring and contaminated land remediation. DEFRA also provides funding to the regional development agencies, including the South East of England Development Agency, through the Single Programme.
	Full details of the funding provided by DEFRA to the local authorities named, and to the south east region as a whole, over the last five years, are available only at disproportionate cost.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what external  (a) public affairs and  (b) public relations work the Waste and Resources Action Programme has commissioned in the last 24 months; from which companies or consultants; and at what cost to the public purse.

Hilary Benn: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) commissions external public relations agencies to communicate its research, advice and consumer campaigns to a wide range of target audiences, both business and consumer. The expenditure is predominantly in support of WRAP's national consumer behaviour-change campaigns: Recycle Now, Love Food Hate Waste and the programme to support home composting.
	WRAP ensures that public relations activity is a cost-effective use of taxpayers' funds. For example, public relations spend of £36,000 to launch The Food We Waste report in May this year delivered national and regional media coverage with an advertising value equivalent of £1.995 million, equal to the entire annual communications budget for WRAP's Food Waste campaign.
	Public relations material produced for the consumer campaigns provides local authorities with valuable free support to help them meet recycling and waste minimisation targets. These campaigns have been highly successful over this period: the number of 'committed recycler' households in England has increased by 3.9 million, unnecessary food waste has been reduced by more than 100,000 tonnes and almost two million compost bins have been sold through the home composting programme.
	It is only possible to express expenditure by financial year, and the following figures therefore relate to the two financial years between April 2007 and March 2009.
	During 2007-08, expenditure on external public relations agencies was £3.1 million, representing 4.3 per cent. of WRAP's budget for that year. In the current financial year (2008-09), the planned expenditure in this area is £2.9 million, representing 5 per cent. of the overall budget for the year. It should be noted that WRAP's 2008-09 budget is significantly lower than the budget for 2007-08, which is why the expenditure on PR agencies in 2008-09, although lower than the figure for 2007-08, represents a higher proportion of this year's budget.
	The firms employed to support WRAP over this period who are currently on the roster are 3 Monkeys, Ptarmigan, Tri-Media Harrison Cowley, Camargue, Bray Leino PR, and Fishbum Hedges. Firms no longer on the roster are Pelican PR, Lawton PR, Grayling, Proteus PR, Consolidated PR, and Kinross and Render.
	During this period WRAP commissioned one piece of external public affairs support. Now completed, this six-month project was to engage public policy makers and opinion formers from outside WRAP's established stakeholder groups to discuss a range of developing resource efficiency issues on which WRAP is working. Chelgate Ltd was engaged at a cost of £25,000.

Waste Management

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he issues on the minimum amount of waste produced within a local authority area which the local authority is required to deal with.

Hilary Benn: Section 75 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) sets out, among other things, the sources of household waste. Subsection 75(8) empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations further refining this list. These regulations were made in 1992 and are known as the Controlled Waste Regulations (CWR).
	Section 45(1) of the EPA places a duty on all waste collection authorities to make arrangements for the collection of all household waste arising in the area they are responsible for.
	In the case of household waste from premises covered by schedule 2 of the CWR, this duty begins when the authority is asked to collect the waste by the person holding it. Sources of household waste covered by schedule 2 of the CWR includes, but is not limited to, waste from institutions such as schools, hospitals and prisons.
	No guidance specific to the quantities of household waste arising in an area that an authority must deal with has been issued by DEFRA or any of its predecessors, as authorities have no choice over how much household waste they must collect. The Department for Environment did issue general guidance on both the EPA and the CWR when those statutory instruments came into force in the early 1990s.

Waste Management: Domestic Wastes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 467W, on waste management: domestic wastes, if he will publish an updated table of the local authorities which operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency.

Hilary Benn: The following table represents our best understanding of local authorities operating residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including pilot schemes. However, due to the often rapid changes in this area, it is unlikely to be completely up to date.
	
		
			  Local authorities operating alternate weekly collections (fortnightly refuse collections) 
			  jpp number  Local authority  Action 
			 19 Alnwick District Council — 
			 104 Amber Valley — 
			 139 Ashfield District Council — 
			 283 Aylesbury Vale District Council Very small pilot scheme 
			 233 Babergh District Council — 
			 90 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council — 
			 138 Bassetlaw District Council — 
			 18 Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council — 
			 65 Blackpool Borough Council — 
			 17 Blyth Valley Borough Council — 
			 122 Boston Borough Council — 
			 277 Bracknell Forest Borough Council — 
			 205 Braintree District Council — 
			 225 Breckland District Council — 
			 156 Bridgnorth District Council — 
			 350 Bristol City Council — 
			 224 Broadland District Council — 
			 149 Bromsgrove District Council — 
			 137 Broxtowe Borough Council — 
			 64 Burnley Borough Council — 
			 191 Cambridge City Council — 
			 166 Cannock Chase District Council — 
			 319 Canterbury City Council — 
			 38 Carlisle City Council — 
			 16 Castle Morpeth Borough Council — 
			 113 Charnwood Borough Council — 
			 326 Cherwell District Council — 
			 102 Chesterfield Borough Council — 
			 344 Chichester District Council — 
			 282 Chiltern District Council Phases 1 and 2 introduced—not district-wide 
			 63 Chorley Borough Council — 
			 37 Copeland Borough Council — 
			 130 Corby Borough Council — 
			 31 Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council — 
			 216 Dacorum Borough Council — 
			 129 Daventry District Council — 
			 96 Derby City Council — 
			 11 Derwentside District Council — 
			 89 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council — 
			 303 East Hampshire District Council — 
			 121 East Lindsey District Council — 
			 302 Eastleigh Borough Council — 
			 30 Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council — 
			 200 Epping Borough Council AWC during winter only 
			 100 Erewash Borough Council — 
			 366 Exeter City Council ~50 per cent. coverage 
			 301 Fareham Borough Council — 
			 189 Fenland District Council — 
			 232 Forest Heath District Council — 
			 62 Fylde Borough Council — 
			 136 Gedling Borough Council AWC during winter only 
			 300 Gosport Borough Council — 
			 223 Great Yarmouth Borough Council — 
			 — Guildford Borough Council 1800 hh trial (proposing to roll out borough wide from October 2009) 
			 84 Hambleton District Council — 
			 112 Harborough District Council — 
			 299 Hart District Council — 
			 4 Hartlepool Borough Council — 
			 289 Hastings Borough Council 69 per cent. coverage 
			 298 Havant Borough Council — 
			 214 Hertsmere Borough Council — 
			 111 Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council — 
			 99 High Peak Borough Council — 
			 188 Huntingdonshire District Council — 
			 61 Hyndbum Borough Council — 
			 231 Ipswich Borough Council — 
			 397 Kennet District Council — 
			 127 Kettering Borough Council — 
			 92 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council Introduced from August 2007 over three years 
			 60 Lancaster City Council — 
			 164 Lichfield District Council — 
			 120 Lincoln City Council Propose to switch to AWC during winter only from 2008 
			 — London Borough of Bexley Introduced spring 2008 
			 263 London Borough of Harrow — 
			 28 Macclesfield Borough Council — 
			 135 Mansfield District Council — 
			 110 Melton Borough Council — 
			 390 Mendip District Council — 
			 183 Mid Bedfordshire District Council — 
			 365 Mid Devon District Council — 
			 230 Mid Suffolk District Council — 
			 341 Mid Sussex District Council — 
			 335 Mole Valley District Council — 
			 134 Newark and Sherwood District Council — 
			 364 North Devon District Council — 
			 98 North East Derbyshire District Council — 
			 213 North Hertfordshire District Council — 
			 119 North Kesteven District Council — 
			 77 North Lincolnshire Council — 
			 221 North Norfolk District Council — 
			 155 North Shropshire District Council — 
			 109 North West Leicestershire District Council — 
			 126 Northampton Borough Council — 
			 133 Nottingham City Council — 
			 48 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council Being rolled out in phases 
			 154 Oswestry Borough Council — 
			 325 Oxford City Council — 
			 59 Pendle Borough Council — 
			 187 Peterborough City Council — 
			 58 Preston Borough Council — 
			 373 Purbeck District Council — 
			 275 Reading Borough Council — 
			 2 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council — 
			 145 Redditch Borough Council — 
			 82 Richmondshire District Council — 
			 47 Rochdale MBC  
			 197 Rochford District Council Introduced from April 2008 
			 56 Rossendale Borough Council — 
			 287 Rother District Council — 
			 88 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council — 
			 — Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Trial 
			 132 Rushcliffe Borough Council — 
			 106 Rutland County Council Started April 2008 
			 81 Ryedale District Council — 
			 80 Scarborough Borough Council — 
			 70 Sefton MBC First phase introduced—being rolled out during 2008 
			 311 Shepway District Council — 
			 153 Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council — 
			 182 South Bedfordshire District Council — 
			 281 South Buckinghamshire District Council 4,400 household trial 
			 186 South Cambridgeshire District Council — 
			 97 South Derbyshire District Council — 
			 392 South Gloucestershire Council — 
			 362 South Hams District Council — 
			 117 South Kesteven District Council — 
			 35 South Lakeland District Council — 
			 219 South Norfolk District Council — 
			 125 South Northamptonshire Council — 
			 55 South Ribble Borough Council — 
			 152 South Shropshire District Council — 
			 388 South Somerset District Council — 
			 162 South Staffordshire District Council — 
			 332 Spelthorne Borough Council — 
			 229 St. Edmundsbury Borough Council — 
			  Stafford Borough Council Being introduced from February 2008 
			 160 Staffordshire Moorlands District Council — 
			 228 Suffolk Coastal — 
			 310 Swale Borough Council — 
			 393 Swindon Borough Council — 
			 159 Tamworth Borough Council — 
			 387 Taunton Deane Borough Council — 
			 361 Teignbridge District Council — 
			 151 Telford and Wrekin Borough Council — 
			 295 Test Valley Borough Council — 
			 308 Tonbridge and Mailing Borough Council — 
			 360 Torbay Council — 
			 307 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council — 
			 15 Tynedale District Council — 
			 195 Uttlesford District Council — 
			 27 Vale Royal Borough Council — 
			 14 Wansbeck District Council — 
			 168 Warwick District Council Introduced from April 2008 
			 227 Waveney District Council — 
			 329 Waverley Borough Council — 
			 286 Wealden District Council — 
			 124 Wellingborough Borough Council — 
			 54 West Lancashire District Council — 
			 394 West Wiltshire District Council — 
			 371 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council — 
			 294 Winchester City Council — 
			 68 Wirral MBC — 
			 328 Woking Borough Council — 
			 143 Worcester City Council — 
			 280 Wycombe District Council — 
			 53 Wyre Borough Council — 
			 141 Wyre Forest District Council — 
			 78 York City Council —

Waste Management: Domestic Wastes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 467W, on waste management: domestic wastes, what the JPP number in the table represents.

Hilary Benn: The numbering system was devised to enable easy matching of datasets. As local authority names are recorded in different ways, e.g. London borough of Camden and Camden, London borough, it was proving difficult to match datasets based on local authority names alone, a process which was facilitated considerably by the numbering system. The letters "JPP" are the initials of the person who devised the system.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, what assessment he has made of the risk of further contamination of crops during the next growing season.

Hilary Benn: The Pesticides Safety Directorate suspended authorisations for the sale, supply and use of aminopyralid products from 23 July 2008, while it carries out further investigations into this problem. The suspension will not be lifted unless I am confident that the risks from contaminated manure can be effectively managed.
	As regards unused manure, advice has been issued to ensure that it rots down fully and is fit for use in the next few years; or it can be disposed of as waste. Advice has also been issued on handling affected plots to speed up the decomposition of the grass in the manure. For example rotavating or digging over affected plots a number of times and ensuring the manure is turned readily. Providing this advice is followed then the risk to next year's crops should be low.

Wildlife: Conservation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to enforce legislation protecting wildlife.

Hilary Benn: The Government remain committed to tackling wildlife crime. Earlier this year it committed funding for the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to secure its future for the next three years. This will enable the unit to further professionalise the enforcement of wildlife legislation, through: gathering information and evidence to compile an annual assessment of wildlife crime in the UK; gathering and analysing intelligence in support of the UK's wildlife crime priorities; and providing direct assistance to individual police and customs officers through its investigative support officers.
	All incidents of wildlife crime in England and Wales are required to be recorded by the police service under the National Standard for Incident Recording, which should enable enforcers to have a better understanding of the level of wildlife crime taking place.
	The Government also strengthened police powers to investigate offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932, the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, the Deer Act 1991 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, through the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
	In April this year, the Government updated their response to the Environmental Audit Committee's 2004 report of its inquiry into wildlife crime. The update gives full information about the Government's activities in this area and is available on request from the House of Commons Library.

Wildlife: National Parks

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to maintain wildlife stocks in the national parks.

Hilary Benn: National Parks play an important role in wildlife conservation and have already made a significant contribution for priority species and habitats under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. National Park authorities have been collaborating with Natural England for some years to tackle issues such as overgrazing and burning on upland sites of special scientific interest. They will continue to work together to ensure the National Parks' contribution to biodiversity conservation is delivered in an exemplary way.

Bell Pottinger

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions representatives of Bell Pottinger or Chime Communications have requested advice from his Department in relation to whether they should provide public affairs or public relations services to foreign governments.

David Miliband: Many UK companies make contact with Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff in the UK and in our embassies overseas for advice on their operations overseas. We do not keep central records of all these contacts.

Georgia: Overseas Residence

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to ensure the safety of Britons in Georgia.

Caroline Flint: As for all countries, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office offers guidance for British nationals in Georgia and those thinking of travelling to Georgia through our travel advice. Our embassy in Tbilisi, like all of our overseas missions, has emergency plans to ensure that British nationals are offered an appropriate level of assistance. In most cases this assistance will be offered through our travel advice and responding to inquiries. If necessary, we would consider reinforcing our embassy to assist the embassy in offering the necessary assistance to British nationals.

Hepatitis

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people newly-diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Laboratory reports of hepatitis C received by the Health Protection Agency—England: 1997 to 2007 
			   Number of laboratory reports( 1) 
			 1997 2,484 
			 1998 3,812 
			 1999 4,614 
			 2000 4,489 
			 2001 4,153 
			 2002 4,761 
			 2003 5,529 
			 2004 6,206 
			 2005 6,234 
			 2006 6,721 
			 2007(2) 7,540 
			 (1) Corrected annual totals at August 2008. All annual totals have been revised to take into account an updated routine to remove reports, which relate to the same patient. Laboratory reports of hepatitis C are newly diagnosed cases of both current and past infections. This is because present serological tests are not able to differentiate between current acute and chronic hepatitis C infections, or between current and past hepatitis C infections. (2) Provisional total.  Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA)

Hepatitis: Finance

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department plans to spend in  (a) the 2008-09 and  (b) the 2009-10 financial year on improving GPs' awareness of the risks of contracting the Hepatitis C virus and its treatment.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is currently developing its ongoing hepatitis C awareness campaign for healthcare professionals and the public for 2008-09 and beyond.
	Health professionals in primary care, including general practitioners, will remain an important audience for the campaign so that they are equipped to provide patients with information and advice about hepatitis C and to offer testing where appropriate.
	The Department will spend about £2.5 million (excluding VAT) on the entire campaign for 2008-09. Budgets for 2009-10 and beyond are yet to be confirmed.

Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process was followed in the appointment of the Chairman of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV; where the post was advertised; how many persons applied for the post; how many were short-listed for interview; whether consideration was given to a candidate's  (a) political views and  (b) views on abortion; how each was appraised; what criteria were adopted for each candidate; how many candidates were rejected; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In appointing the chair and members of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV, the Department followed the guidance on appointments to public bodies, issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This included recruiting an Independent Assessor, who was involved in all stages of the recruitment exercise. I agreed all appointments to the group.
	The post was advertised in  The Times,  Guardian, medical press and minority ethnic press. Three individuals applied for the post of chair and all were interviewed. All candidates for the chair were appraised using the same three criteria, which were:
	experience of successfully chairing a large committee;
	ability to steer a programme of work and have the ability to think strategically across a range of issues; and
	possess a thorough knowledge and understanding of sexual health and HIV, or related social policy.
	We are unable to give information on political views or views on abortion, as such information would identify candidates.

NHS: Eyesight

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received corrective laser eye surgery on the NHS in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: Corrective Laser eye surgery is not carried out routinely on the national health service other than for exceptional clinical reasons and these will be very rare. The Department does not collect data broken down by this specific group.

NHS: Finance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the monies allocated to the reduction in the numbers of people with learning disabilities living in NHS campus-style accommodation will be distributed.

Phil Hope: To support the program to close national health service campus-style services, £96 million in revenue grant and £175 million in capital grant was made available for three years; 2008-09, 2009-010 and 2010-11.
	The revenue grant has been targeted on local authorities (LAs) where campuses are currently or have previously been located to ensure that the money is used to help more people into appropriate supported accommodation. LAs were invited to bid for funding for the grant.
	The LAs that applied for the grant and were successful in their bid, will have their grant monies paid as a single payment on 1 June of the financial year to which the payment relates, or as soon after that as reasonable practicable. The total allocations for the revenue grant were £14 million in 2008-09, £31 million in 2009-10 and £51 million in 2010-11.
	In addition, there is a three-stage bidding process in place for LAs and primary care trusts to bid for capital funding. Stages 1 and 2 of this programme have been completed and a total of £48 million over two years (2007-08 and 2008-09) has been allocated to help up to 700 people with a learning disability move to alternative accommodation in the community. An expert panel assessed the joint bids to decide on the allocations; this panel included a person with learning disabilities and a family carer.

Antisocial Behaviour

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 24 June 2008,  Official Report, column 259W, on antisocial behaviour, what the timetable is for implementing the provisions of the 2006 Act; and whether she plans to implement the Act before implementation of the provisions of the Community Empowerment Bill.

Vernon Coaker: We have always been clear that the implementation of these proposals must give proper consideration to the wider local accountability agenda. We are therefore keen to ensure that implementation of these provisions properly takes into account the findings of Sir Ronnie Flanagan's Independent Review of Policing, along with the proposals from Louise Casey's review "Connecting Communities with the fight against crime".
	The Policing Green Paper "From the neighbourhood to the national: policing our communities together" set out proposals for improving local accountability, and specifically asks for views on how the Councillor Calls for Action might complement the broader agenda.
	The formal consultation period for the Green Paper runs until Friday 10 October. Any implementation timetable for the Councillor Calls for Action will need to be developed in light of the responses received.

Passports: Ex-servicemen

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many war veterans in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK received a free passport in each year since the scheme's inception.

Meg Hillier: The then Home Secretary announced the introduction of free passports on 19 May 2004 as a special concession for the Second World War generation, to recognise all those who had contributed to the national effort during the war years, whether in the armed services or on the home front. Those who qualify are British nationals born on or before 2 September 1929 and therefore were old enough by the end of the war to have made a substantial contribution to the national effort.
	The number of free passports issued under the scheme, by financial year, is as follows:
	
		
			   Free passports issued 
			 2004-05 121,444 
			 2005-06 157,229 
			 2006-07 127,820 
			 2007-08 109,655 
			 2008-09(1) 45,344 
			 (1) To end September 2008 
		
	
	Information on numbers issued by constituency could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Personation: Internet

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to address online identity fraud.

Meg Hillier: The Government have a number of ongoing work programmes, many operating in partnership with public and private sector stakeholders, to seek to combat all forms of fraud, including where computer systems are a factor in enabling fraudulent activity.
	Government have allocated £29 million over three years to implement the recommendations of the Fraud Review. This includes the creation of a National Fraud Strategic Authority, launched earlier this month; a new national lead force role for the city of London police; and a National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC), expected to go live in 2009, which will radically streamline the way that the public report fraud, including fraud committed over the internet, to the police. The NFRC will also equip law enforcement agencies with a powerful intelligence tool and help form the basis of better prevention advice and alerts to fraud threats for business and the public.
	To help people and organisations protect themselves from crime which may involve an online element, the website www.getsafeonline.org was developed by the Government, police and industry. The website gives advice on how to stay safe online when shopping, banking or doing business over the internet, and how to protect computers and the personal information they contain. More general advice regarding identity fraud can be found on the website www.identitytheft.org.uk which was developed in partnership between Government, law enforcement and industry to provide advice to the public and business around combating identity theft and fraud.
	The Government are providing £3.5 million over three years to create the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU). This will provide support to the police service in developing a structured response to online crime, and its initial focus will be on the area of fraud-related electronic crime, working with the NFRC to develop a response to reports on such matters. The PCeU will act as the central unit for the police on promotion of standards for training, procedure and response to e-crime. It will bring together forces, the National Police Improvement Agency and other groups to develop training and to coordinate activity to build up the skill levels within policing. Outside of this the Serious Organised Crime Agency will continue its' ongoing work to tackle the international and serious organised crime groups operating on the internet, supporting the NFRC and PCeU where appropriate.
	Government continue to review and revise legislation to ensure that it is adequate to deal with modern ways of committing offences. The Fraud Act 2006 revised and updated legislation on fraud, including introducing an offence of fraud by false representation. This makes it an offence to commit any fraud by false representation in any form; it makes no difference if the representation is made to a machine or to a person, and there does not have to be any actual loss to a victim, it is merely enough to expose another to a risk of loss.
	Ministers continue to have regular contact with the banking industry about crime reduction, including issues around online frauds.

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what freephone 24-hour telephone lines exist for victims of rape and sexual assault in England and Wales.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 8 October 2008
	The Government fund a matrix of helplines for victims of domestic violence across the country including the free 24-hour national domestic violence helpline. We are currently exploring options for expanding these to cover a 24 hour sexual violence helpline. In addition, the Government provide funding to help develop new sexual assault referral centres and support existing ones. Sexual assault referral centres are available 24 hours a day to provide support to victims of sexual violence.

Theft: Metals

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of  (a) the incidence of metal theft and  (b) the cost of such theft to (i) Government, (ii) local authorities and (iii) other public bodies; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: We are supporting the Association of Chief Police Officers led Conductive Metal Theft working group to address the problem of metal theft and will be working closely with all stakeholders and Government Departments to establish effective responses to the problem.
	The ACPO working group has produced an analysis which included an assessment of the overall cost of metal theft but this is not broken down into individual costs to Government and other public bodies. The analysis is being used as the basis for the development of the working group's strategy to address the issue
	It is clear that the consequences of metal theft can be significant for local communities, businesses and the national infrastructure.

Theft: Metals

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the  (a) number and  (b) monetary value of (i) aluminium and (ii) stainless steel beer barrels stolen in 2007.

Alan Campbell: We have made no estimation of the monetary value of stolen aluminium or stainless steel barrels stolen in 2007.
	We are working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers led Conductive Metals Working Group to establish an effective response to the problem of metal theft.
	We are aware that each year the brewing industry loses a considerable amount of money from the theft and misappropriation of barrels, kegs, and gas cylinders. Action to address the problem will be part of the ACPO working group strategy to tackle metal theft.

Work Permits: Overseas Students

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many overseas students have been granted visas to work in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) nationality,  (b) age and  (c) sex; what the average time taken by her Department to process such visa requests is; what recent representations she has received on work visas for overseas students; what steps she has (i) recently taken and (ii) plans to take to reduce the time taken to process such visa requests; how many such applications have been rejected in the last three years; on what grounds; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many students from  (a) Colombia and  (b) the Maldives studying at UK universities have been granted visas to work in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) age and (ii) sex; what the average time taken by her Department to process such visa applications is; how many such applications were outstanding at the latest date for which figures are available; how many such applications have been rejected in the last three years; on what grounds; what steps she has (A) taken and (B) plans to take to reduce the time taken to process such visa applications; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is as follows:
	 Overseas students
	To accurately identify those who switched from a student to employment status would involve reviewing each case individually which would result in disproportional costs.
	 Service  s tandards
	The current performance against service standards can be found on the UKBA website. The current service standards were introduced in 2005. Performances against the work permits and HSMP service standards are illustrated in Annex A. New services standards will be introduced as the Points Based System is fully rolled out.
	Further information on service standards can be found in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Control of Immigration: Statistics UK—ISSN 1358-51 OX.
	Section 4 of the publication details the official statistics relating to after-entry control (please see following table).
	
		
			  Annex A: Highly skilled migrant programme and work permits service standards 
			  Percentage 
			  Target  2007  2006  2005 
			  Highly skilled migrant programme
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 25 working days 90 87 83 
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 70 working days 96 97 93 
			 
			  Work permits
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 5 working days 60 75 74 
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 15 working days 88 92 91

Higher Education: Asylum

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what procedures are in place to allow  (a) asylum seekers under the age of 18 years and  (b) asylum seekers who are 18 years old or over to obtain education and training; what guidance is given to universities; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The children of asylum seekers have the same rights as all other children in the United Kingdom during the period of compulsory education. All 16 to 18-year-old asylum seekers are eligible for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding in respect of their attendance on a further education course in the same way as UK students.
	Asylum seekers aged 19 or over are treated as UK students for the purpose of fees for further education where they have been legally in the UK for longer than six months pending consideration of their application for asylum or where they have failed in their claim but have been granted support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. This follows the granting of concessions to enable asylum seekers to access LSC funding in certain circumstances, for example for courses teaching English for speakers of other languages. Otherwise they are treated as international students, and may be required to cover the full cost of their course. However an FE college or provider has discretion over the level of fee that they actually charge.
	Asylum seekers access higher education courses as international students and can expect to be charged the full cost of their course by the university concerned. However, universities have discretion over the level of fee that they actually charge. The Higher Education Refugees and Asylum Seekers network provides guidance on the detailed rules which apply.

Higher Education: Community Relations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government has taken to encourage colleges and universities to provide access to their facilities for the local community.

David Lammy: Further Education colleges provide a broad range of services to their local communities, not just in education but in support of broader aims relating to economic development, cohesion and social mobility. Colleges draw most of their students from the local area and work in partnership with other local organisations to determine how their strengths, including their premises and facilities, can best meet their community's needs.
	We are supporting them in this through record investment in buildings and equipment. Over the last 10 years, Government investment in the FE estate, including ICT, has totalled £2.4 billion.
	The Learning and Skills Council is currently assessing the extent and nature of colleges' provision of wider community activities including the community's use of college facilities and will publish its findings in November. We will draw on these findings to identify good practice and to see what more might be done to support this aspect of colleges' work.
	The DIUS consultation "Informal Adult Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead" identified the need for low cost, accessible learning venues as a key issue. DIUS will work with other Government Departments and local authorities to consider how access to a wide range of public spaces, including colleges, can be encouraged and supported to provide free or subsidised venues for book clubs, family history or other groups of people learning for pleasure.
	Higher education institutions (HEIs) engage with the public in many ways, including providing access to sports facilities, museums, theatres and galleries; community volunteering by staff and students; and creating lifelong learning opportunities for a diverse body of learners. In 2006/07, over 110,000 people attended charged public lectures (and additionally 650,000 attended free events), and around 1,400,000 attended charged performance arts events organised by HEIs (and 412,000 attended free performance events). In addition, over 6,000 non-commercial partners, such as social, community and cultural organisations have benefited from the use of over £38 million worth of HEI facilities and equipments over the same period.
	Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) have recently published the confirmed distribution for 2008-11 of nearly £400 million to HEIs from the Higher Education Innovation Fund round 4 (HEIF 4), following approval of HEI strategies for their work to engage with social, cultural and community organisations, as well as businesses and public services (HEFCE Report 2008/34). An overview and assessment of these strategies is also available (HEFCE Report 2008/35).

Higher Education: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government has taken to improve the quality of higher education since 1997.

David Lammy: Working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) we have supported the continuing enhancement of high quality teaching and learning in higher education (HE) through the core grant and a range of targeted initiatives.
	In 1997 an independent body, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), was established to provide an integrated quality assurance service for UK HE. HEFCE has statutory responsibility for the quality assessment of HE in institutions that it funds, and it contracts with the QAA to fulfil this responsibility and to safeguard the public interest in sound standards of HE qualifications.
	In addition to a programme of institutional audit, the QAA defines clear and explicit standards for HE, both for public information and as reference points for their quality assurance services. These include a framework for HE qualifications, subject benchmark statements, programme specifications, and the code of practice in HE.
	We have encouraged the HE sector's introduction of the publication of a range of accurate and up to date information about each institution on the website www.unistats.ac.uk. This includes the results of the National Student Survey (NSS) which asks final year students for views on the quality of their teaching and learning experience. The results serve to inform prospective students and promote continuous improvement in institutions. Since it started the NSS has shown a high level of consistency in relation to overall student satisfaction with the quality of their courses— around 80 per cent. from 2005 to 2008.
	We have also worked in partnership with the sector to raise the status and profile of teaching in HE through:
	the introduction in 2000 of the national teaching fellowship scheme to reward and recognise teaching excellence and spread good practice;
	the creation of the HE academy in 2004 to support institutions and individuals to provide the best possible learning experience;
	the development of 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (2005) with a focus on enhancing student learning through sharing excellent practice and promoting innovation; and
	development by the HE academy in 2006 of new professional standards for teaching in HE.

Higher Education: Student Wastage

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government has taken to increase completion rates of university degrees.

David Lammy: We are maintaining very good completion rates for first degrees with the latest statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that the UK ranks 3rd of the 27 countries reporting data in this area. This has been achieved and maintained during a period when higher education has been opened up to both increased numbers and a greater diversity of students.
	However, the Government are not complacent and accept that there is more that we could do, which is why we welcomed the recommendations of the National Audit Office study and the follow-on Public Accounts Committee report on the retention of students in higher education.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England is taking forward these recommendations and working with the higher education sector to disseminate good practice and help higher education institutions learn from what works well elsewhere. HEFCE held regional workshops last spring to examine these issues and they are joint funding seven projects with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation over the next three years to inform better targeting of institutional support for students.

Learning Disability

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government has taken to provide support to students who have learning difficulties.

David Lammy: The Higher Education Funding Council for England provides higher education institutions with funding to support disabled students through the mainstream disability allocation. The Council's overall disability funding allocation for the sector has increased from £7 million in 2000/01 (when it was introduced) to £13 million in 2008/09.
	We also provide funding directly to students through disabled students' allowances (DSAs), which can help to remove the obstacles that prevent disabled students (including students with specific learning difficulties) from entering and completing higher education courses. In 2006/07, the latest year for which figures are available, we provided approximately £81 million to 38,000 students.
	From this academic year the non-medical helper's allowance (for undergraduates) and the postgraduate allowance will be increased by around 60 per cent. These increases mean that
	the maximum amount of DSA for non-medical helpers has increased from £12,420 in 2007/08 to £20,000 in 2008/09 for full-time undergraduates, and from £9,315 to £15,000 for part-time undergraduates.
	the maximum amount of the DSA for postgraduate students has increased from £5,915 in 2007/08 to £10,000 in 2008/09.
	DSAs are provided in addition to the standard student support package; they are not means tested and do not have to be repaid.

Mathematics: General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of over-16 year-olds who do not have a grade C or above in mathematics at GCSE or an equivalent qualification.

Si�n Simon: The Skills for Life survey in 2003 estimated the literacy and numeracy levels and functional ability of adults in England. The Skills for Life survey reported that 13 per cent. of adults aged 16-65 achieved a D-G grade or equivalent in GCSE Maths. 42 per cent. have a maths GCSE A*-C grade or equivalent and 45 per cent. do not have a maths qualification at GCSE level.

Departmental Data Protection

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of data lost by Government Departments there have been in the last 12 months.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) on 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 25-26WS.
	Data losses by Government Departments are included in annual reporting for 2007-08 published by Departments.

Powers of Entry

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by his Department and its predecessor has (i) amended and (ii) enhanced existing powers of entry since May 1997.

Michael Wills: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Home Office (Mr. Coaker) on 7 October 2008,  Official Report, column 577W.

Procedural Reform

Graham Allen: To ask the Leader of the House what procedural reforms of the House of Commons she and her predecessors have instigated since July 2001.

Chris Bryant: The Government have continued since 2001 to advance their programme of procedural reform in the Commons. This has included modernisation of sitting hours and the publication in advance of an annual parliamentary calendar.
	There has been improved topicality with a reduced notice period for oral questions, the introduction of topical questions and debates, more effective limits for speaking times, and introduction of the tabling of written questions in September
	The establishment of evidence-taking opportunities at the committee stage of Bills, improved explanatory material and plainer language for legislation, publication of a draft legislative programme, and the introduction of a new process to promote post-legislative scrutiny has enhanced Members ability to scrutinise legislation.
	The strengthening of select committees and payment of salaries to committee chairs, has encouraged greater examination of Government, with enhanced scrutiny of the Prime Minster by the Liaison Committee.

Dorneywood

James Duddridge: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: Official Hospitality, what use her Office has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months.

Harriet Harman: None.

Select Committees: Regional Government

David Heath: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to bring forward proposals for the orders of reference for regional select committees.

Harriet Harman: On 21 July, the Government published their proposal on the introduction of regional committeesboth select committees and Grand Committeesin response to the Third Report from the Modernisation Committee. As indicated in that response, we intend to bring forward the detailed proposals in the period before the end of the current session with the hope that the committeesif approved by the Housecould begin work in the new year.

Cabinet: Birmingham

Pete Wishart: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost was of the Cabinet visit to Birmingham, broken down by  (a) staff time,  (b) staff travel,  (c) staff accommodation,  (d) Ministerial travel,  (e) Ministerial accommodation,  (f) hire and additional costs of venue,  (g) publicity,  (h) security and  (i) costs of Ministerial visits and photocalls associated with the Cabinet visit.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Members for Worthing, West (Peter Bottomley) and North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson) on 17 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2229W.

Departmental Buildings

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister which organisations have received  (a) free and  (b) discounted room hire from (i) his Office and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Phil Hope) on 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1830W.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister which projects his Office has commissioned form  (a) think tanks and  (b) charities in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what the aim of each project was; which think tank or charity was commissioned; and how much was paid.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Kevin Brennan) on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, column 651W.

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Prime Minister how many and what proportion of staff in his Office are disabled; and what the average salary in his Office is of  (a) full-time disabled staff,  (b) full-time non-disabled staff,  (c) part-time disabled staff and  (d) part-time non-disabled staff.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 651-57W.

Building Capacity in the Third Sector

Greg Clark: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission when the National Audit Office plans to publish its report Building Capacity in the Third Sector; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish the report.

Alan Williams: The Public Accounts Commission is responsible for oversight of the National Audit Office's funding and governance, but the Comptroller and Auditor General has complete discretion in the discharge of his work programme. The hon. Member may wish to write directly to the C and AG about the report referred to.

Victim and Witness Support

David Kidney: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Attorney-General's Office and Crown Prosecution Service have taken to improve support provided by the criminal justice system for victims and witnesses with mental health difficulties.

Angela Eagle: The Crown Prosecution Service has taken a number of important steps with its criminal justice partners to improve support for victims and witnesses with mental health problems. They include needs assessments conducted by the police and witness care officers that assist the prosecutor in considering what support is necessary both in court and outside.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service has brought for offences of human trafficking in the last three years.

Angela Eagle: The Crown Prosecution Service's records show that the following prosecutions have been brought on charges under sections 57, 58 and 59 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, alleging trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation in the last three years:
	
		
			   Number of prosecutions 
			 2005-06 18 
			 2006-07 40 
			 2007-08 87 
		
	
	This data relates only to the number of charged offences which reached first hearing in the magistrates courts.
	Human trafficking cases may also be prosecuted under other legislation for offences such as assisting unlawful immigration to a member state (facilitation), or other serious offences such as rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, threats to kill and causing or inciting prostitution for gain.

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 7 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 912-13W, on housing: valuation, if he will rank each individual locality according to the value significance of its coefficient.

Stephen Timms: The coefficient referred to is calculated by the automated valuation model using multiple regression analysis. The calculations use information specific to a valuation area (usually a billing authority) and so it is not possible to rank them.

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 18 June 2008,  Official Report, column 988W, on housing: valuation, how many localities there are in each individual billing area.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1258W.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of tax relief on pensions which is claimed by higher rate taxpayers.

Ian Pearson: The proportion of tax relief on individual and employees' pension contributions that is claimed by higher rate taxpayers is estimated to be 60 per cent. The equivalent figures for employer contributions are not available.
	This figure is sourced from 2005-06 survey data that has been adjusted to account for the 2008-09 tax rates, and have been rounded to the nearest 5 per cent.

Schools: Truancy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils had a recorded unauthorised half-day absence while in year  (a) nine,  (b) 10 and  (c) 11 in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The first year for which information is available on absence rates by National Curriculum year group is 2005-06 and relates to secondary schools only. Data from primary and special schools is available from 2006-07.
	The available information relates to the percentage of half days lost by type of absence and is shown in the tables:
	
		
			  State funded secondary schools( 1, 2) : Pupil absence for national curriculum year groups 9,10 and 11, 2005-06, England 
			State funded secondary schools 
			Percentage of half days missed( 4) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 3)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 598,760 6.76 1.30 8.06 
			 10 601,220 6.98 1.84 8.82 
			 11 581,300 8 05 2.43 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2. Includes local authority maintained secondary school, city technology colleges and academies. 3. Pupil numbers are as at January 2006. Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 with sole and dual (main registration). Excludes boarders. 4. The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions.  Source  School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  Primary, Secondary and special schools 1, 2, 3: Pupil absence for national curriculum year groups 9, 10, 11 2006-07: England 
			Primary Schools( 1) 
			Percentage of half days misse d( 5) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 10 3.90 0.89 4.80 
			 10 20 2.69 0.59 3.29 
			 11 20 2.95 0.51 3.46 
		
	
	
		
			State funded secondary schools ( 1, 2) 
			Percentage of half days misse d( 5) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 579,140 6.29 1.37 7.66 
			 10 598,630 6.49 1.98 8.47 
			 11 588,340 7.61 2.59 10.19 
		
	
	
		
			Special Schools( 3) 
			Percentage of half days misse d( 5) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 9,710 8.84 2.75 11.59 
			 10 10,340 9.14 3.46 12.60 
			 11 10,110 10.13 4.62 14.75 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. 2. Includes local authority maintained secondary school, city technology colleges and academies. 3. Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. 4. Pupil numbers are as at January 2007. Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 with sole and dual (main registration). Excludes boarders. 5. The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. Note: Total may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what  (a) listening exercises and  (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; and who the private contractor was and how much it was paid in each case.

Shaun Woodward: In 2007-08 the Northern Ireland Office held the following listening exercises and public forums:
	
		
			  2007-08 
			  Number organised  Purpose  Private contractor  Cost 
			  Listening Exercises
			 4 To consult with older people on the Government's Proposals for the Safety of Older People. Age Concern and Help the Aged 1,828.37 for all 4 events 
			 
			  Public Forums
			 5(1) Promote awareness of the consultation paper Hidden Crime, Secret Pain and outline key issues and strategic objectives to also coincide with the public consultation on developing proposals for a Regional Strategy on Addressing Sexual Violence in Northern Ireland. None n/a 
			 2(2) To consult with various groups and the general public on the NIO Disability Action Plan. None n/a 
			 (1) Organised jointly between the NIO and Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. (2) One event was organised jointly between the NIO and Criminal Justice Agencies. The other event was organised jointly between the NIO and Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments. 
		
	
	 2006 - 07 There were no listening exercises or public forums.